By Nancy B. Greer
President & CEO
Since the COVID-19 pandemic struck months ago, I have been heartened by how our Puget Sound Jewish community has risen to meet the challenge. Yet the crisis has placed unprecedented strains on the Jewish community organizations that provide so many essential services. They serve as our community’s vital organs and they need our collective help.
For this reason, your Federation is proud to launch the Pledge 5 campaign, an initiative of the Seattle Jewish Community Endowment Fund. As part of this campaign, we are asking community members who have donor-advised funds and foundations to pledge 5 percent of their fund’s principal balance, above and beyond their annual giving, to local Jewish organizations. As highlighted in an article from Nonprofit Quarterly, donor-advised funds and family foundations serve as a communal “rainy day fund,” and our Jewish community organizations need your support now more than ever to ensure they can weather the storm.
I invite you to watch my video (above) and to review our Pledge 5 Community Giving Guide, where, at Federation’s invitation, local Jewish organizations shared in their own words what they do for our community. My husband and I have pledged 5, and I invite you to join us in pledging 5 to the Puget Sound Jewish organizations that call to your heart and help ensure that our local Jewish landscape remains vibrant and thriving. Even if you don’t have a DAF or foundation, check out the Giving Guide and consider increasing your gifts to Jewish organizations in our community. Every gift makes a difference.
I am confident that we will come through this crisis—resilient, vibrant, thriving, and working together for brighter tomorrows. Thank you, for everything that you do.
